Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra

03 April 2013

Style.com has first dibs on the costume designs Azzedine Alaïa has come up with for the LA Phil's forthcoming Marriage of Figaro. Christopher Maltman and Dorothea
Röschmann as Count
and Countess Almaviva will wear the outfits sketched above.

The Countess's dress is reminiscent of Alaïa's signature skintight knits, as seen on Megan Fox below - bet Dorothea won't be touching any doughnuts for a while. The Count's suit marks a departure for the designer, who normally steers clear of menswear.

21 May 2012

The LA Philharmonic drafted in an all-star roster of backstage talent for their unaccustomed venture into the world of opera on Friday night. Christopher Alden directed the semi-staged Don Giovanni. The giant crumpled paper sets were created by the architect of the LA Phil's Walt Disney Concert Hall, Frank Gehry. Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte provided the fairytale-chic costumes, recruiting their catwalk cohorts Odile Gilbert (hair) and James Kaliardos (makeup) to set off their designs.

Mariusz Kwiecien took the title role, with Carmela Remigio (Donna Anna), Aga Mikolaj (Donna Elvira) and Anna Prohaska ( Zerlina) on the receiving end of the most gorgeous frocks. And of course LA's very own musical superstar, Gustavo Dudamel, was in the pit.

The production, which sets the orchestra behind the stage and the chorus at the sides, was described as "freshly illuminated" but "not without acoustical or musical compromises" by Mark Swed in the LA Times.

04 January 2012

What Gustavo Dudamel's Don Giovanni might sound like is debatable. Especially as so far the LA Phil have only announced one singer (Mariusz Kwiecen) for the three night run at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in May. An 'international cast' is promised, but at this stage Anna Netrebko's dance card is probably full, KWIM?

At least it's odds on to look good.

The always-provocative Christopher Alden directs. The venue's architect, Frank Gehry, makes his opera debut (as far as I know*) at the age of 82 by designing the sets.

And, just announced, Rodarte designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy, of Black Swan (below) fame, are to create the costumes. "It only took a few seconds to say ‘yes,’” said Laura. “My grandmother sang opera, and if she were alive today, this would be her proudest moment.” Awwww.

* UPDATE - Reader John advises "Frank Gerhy designed the sets for the opening production of the Opera Theater he designed for Bard College in upstate New York – 2 hours from Manhattan. The opera was Osud by Janacek. This was his debut as a set designer. In my opinion they weren’t bad but they weren’t great."

30 January 2011

The first thing that strikes you about the LA Philharmonic is how un-American they sound. We associate US visitors with breathtaking technical precision and an air of cool detachment, yet the Californians dug in with the fire and passion of a native orchestra, rough edges and all. It's a sound they developed way before the arrival of Dudamel, though he's clearly a good fit.